United States Patent CLEANING AND ABRADING TOOL Floyd Leslie Bell, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application May 15, 1953, Serial No. 355,375

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-1041) This invention relates to a device primarily for use in cleaning the spark plug passages of internal combustion engines as well as the seats for the spark plugs at the entrance to these passages.

It is the object of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensive cleaning tool which is easy to operate and which can be depended on to give efiicient service over a long period of time. With these objects in view, the invention consists in the combination herein fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is an extended view of the device of the invention showing the parts thereof as they appear before completely assembled;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the completely assembled device;

Fig. 3 is a top view thereof; and

Fig. 4 illustrates additional features of the invention.

The device of the invention, in the form illustrated, comprises two rods 1, 2 which are twisted together, beginning at the bottom of Fig. l, to from a double helix. Short lengths of wire 3 are placed between the rods of the helix by continuously and uniformly inserting the ends of the wires into the spaces between the rods as these spaces gradually become closed during the twisting operation rigidly to anchor the middle portions of the wires therein. The insertion of the wires continues for a distance and is then discontinued, leaving the upper portion of the helix unfilled, whereupon the ends of the rods forming the helix are trimmed to provide a tool of the required length. The next step in the construction of the device consists in cutting the ends of the wires along the lower portion of the helix back to form the helical brush portion 4.

A thimble-shaped sleeve 5 has a perforation 6 through the closed end thereof of a size to fit freely over the twisted rods of the device and this sleeve is pushed down along the rods until the closed end thereof is arrested by the upper end of the wire helix 3. During this downward movement, it is found that this wire helix becomes compressed within the sleeve to form the compacted brush 7 of Fig. 2. The lower end of this brush is then squared, as indicated at 7 effectively to engage the seat to be cleaned. This completes the construction of the device.

The operation of this novel .tool is simple. It is merely required to remove the spark plug and to\ push the tool into the threaded plug passage. When thereupon the tool is rotated, under continued pressure, it is found that the threads of the passage and the seat at the entrance thereto quickly will become completely cleaned. And when the wire used in making the brush combination is of the proper gage, hardness and resilience, it will be found that the device can be depended on to give satisfactory service over a long period of time. The operation of the device will be simplified by mounting the helix in the chuck of an electric drill or a hand drill. But it is, of course, possible to shape the upper end of the helix to form a handle, substantially as indicated at 8 in dotted outline in Fig. 2, should this form of tool be found more convenient to operate in cases where access to the plug recesses is not unobstructed.

When the wire used in making the brush of the tool is of suflicient hardness and rigidity to withstand the strain of recurrent cleaning operation and when resilient enough to be compressed within the sleeve 5, it may be found that the urge of the outer end of the brush portion 7 to expand will tend to unseat the sleeve. And while it has been my experience that this brush portion becomes so tightly wedged in the sleeve that it is very difficult and requires considerable power again to unseat it, it is a very simple matter to provide means for more positively locking the sleeve in position. I have to this end in Fig. 4 shown a circular indentation 10 sunk into the cylindrical surface of the sleeve 9, near the outer end thereof, behind which the wires within the sleeve expand more rigidly to lock the sleeve in position.

In addition, it may be found advantageous to slip a piece of tubing over the projecting end of the stem, substantially as indicated at 11 in Fig. 4. With this tubing in position it may be found more convenient to obtain a firm grip on the stem when placed in the drill chuck. And when the tubing is tightly pressed in position on the stem it will further aid in locking the sleeve in position.

It is seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a very simple and inexpensive tool which may conveniently be operated effectively to clean such threaded passages and seats. But while I have illustrated a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that modifications, within the scope of the ap pended claims, may be embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A cleaning tool comprising, a twisted stem, a thimble-shaped sleeve on said stem, wires seated in the twists of the stem to form a brush within the sleeve, the end of the brush projecting a short distance below the open end of the sleeve, and wires seated in the twists of the stern below the sleeve and projecting from the stem to form a helical brush smaller in diameter.

2. A cleaning tool comprising, a twisted stem, a thirnble-shaped sleeve on said stern, wires seated in the twists of the stem to form a brush within the sleeve, the end of the brush projecting a short distance below the open end of the sleeve, and wires seated in the twists of the stern below the sleeve and projecting from the stem to form a helical brush smaller in diameter, the outer surface of the sleeve near the open end thereof being indented to form an inwardly projecting annular ridge compressing the portion of the brush within the sleeve.

3. A cleaning tool comprising, two rods twisted together to form a stem, lengths of wire held locked in the twists of the stem and radially projecting therefrom to form a helical brush, the lower portion of said brush being trimmed to form a helix of smaller diameter, and a thimble-shaped sleeve on the stem, said sleeve being advanced thereon against the wires of the upper helical brush to bend the wires thereof and to cause the ends thereof to project a short distance beyond the open end of the sleeve.

4. A tool for cleaning a passage through a wall and a seat at the entrance to the passage, said tool comprising; two rods twisted together to form a helical stern, short lengths of wire gradually and uniformly inserted into the space between the rods during the twisting operation and held rigidly locked in position in the twists of the stem, and a thimble-shaped sleeve pushed downward on the stem to bend the upper portion of the wires to form a brush projecting a short distance below the open end of the sleeve and a diameter to cover the seat to be cleaned, the ends of the wires below said brush being cut back to form a helical brush of a diameter tightly to engage the passage to be cleaned.

5. A tool for the cleaning of a passage through a wall and of a seat at the entrance to the passage, said tool comprising; two rods twisted together to form a helical stem, short lengths of wire gradually and uniformly inserted into the space between the rods during the twisting operation and held rigidly locked in position in the twists of the stern, and a thimble-shaped sleeve pushed downward on the stem to bend the upper portion of the wires to form a brush projecting a short distance below the open end of the sleeve and of a diam eter to cover the seat to be cleaned, the outer surface of the sleeve near the open end thereof being indented to form an inwardly projecting annular ridge compressing the portion of the brush within the sleeve, the ends of the wires below said brush being cut back to form a helical brush of a diameter tightly to engage the passage to be cleaned.

6. A tool for the cleaning of a passage through a wall and of a seat at the entrance to the passage, said tool the open end thereof being indented to form an inwardly projecting annular ridge compressing the portion of the brush within the sleeve, the ends of the Wires below said brush being cut back to form a helical brush of a diameter tightly to engage the passage to be cleaned, and a tube pressed in position on the stem against the upper end of the sleeve.